Under the Auditor-General Act 1997, the Auditor-General’s functions include:

• auditing the financial statements of Commonwealth entities, Commonwealth companies and their subsidiaries;
• auditing annual performance statements of Commonwealth entities;
• conducting performance audits, assurance reviews, and audits of the performance measures, of Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies and their subsidiaries;
• conducting a performance audit of a Commonwealth partner as described in section 18B of the Act; 
• providing other audit services as required by other legislation or allowed under section 20 of the Act; and
• reporting directly to the Parliament on any matter or to a minister on any important matter.

Annual financial statements audits, including the audit of the Australian Government’s consolidated financial statements, are mandated functions of the Auditor-General. The Act provides the Auditor-General with discretion in the performance of other functions.

As an independent officer of the Parliament, the Auditor-General has complete discretion in the performance or exercise of the functions or powers. In exercising the mandated and discretionary functions and powers, the Auditor-General is not subject to direction from anyone in relation to:

• whether a particular audit is to be conducted;
• the way a particular audit is to be conducted; or
• the priority to be given to any particular matter.

In the exercise of the functions or powers, the Auditor-General must have regard to the audit priorities of the Parliament as determined by the JCPAA.

In the interests of promoting transparency, the Auditor-General’s expenses, as well as information about gifts and benefits offered to the Auditor-General or staff of the ANAO, are published on the ANAO website. Information about briefings provided to parliamentarians by the Auditor-General and staff of the ANAO is also published on the ANAO website. Website users can subscribe to be notified when new information is published about these items.

Auditor-General, Australian National Audit Office, 4 November 2024 to present

Dr Caralee McLiesh PSM was appointed as the 16th Auditor-General for Australia with effect from 4 November 2024.

Prior to her appointment, Caralee served as the Secretary and Chief Executive of the New Zealand Treasury for five years, where she led the Treasury and its advice through the COVID-19 pandemic and worked with the New Zealand Government to deliver budgets and a range of legislative and policy reforms.

Between 2008 and 2019, Caralee served in the New South Wales public service. As Managing Director of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) New South Wales in 2018–2019, she led organisational reforms to improve TAFE’s competitiveness and sustainability. Before that, Caralee held several deputy secretary roles at the New South Wales Treasury. She was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2017 for outstanding service to social impact investment policy and reform in New South Wales.

Caralee began her career at the Boston Consulting Group, before working with the International Red Cross in Botswana and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then the World Bank in Washington DC from 2000 to 2007.

Caralee has a PhD in Finance from the University of Melbourne and Bachelor of Economics (Hons 1) from the Australian National University. She is a fellow of Certified Practising Accountants (FCPA).

When the first Commonwealth Parliament assembled in Melbourne in May 1901, its immediate task was to begin building the necessary institutions of national government. The fourth Act passed by the Parliament was the Audit Act 1901, which created the office of the Auditor-General.

The Auditor-General was intended to be an independent and impartial public official who could scrutinise Commonwealth administration and give true assessments on the state of the public accounts without intimidation by government or other vested interests. The role of the Auditor-General was seen as fundamental to good government.

The Auditor-General Act 1997 took effect on 1 January 1998 and replaced the Audit Act 1901.

Over time, the provisions of the Auditor-General’s enabling legislation have been amended to ensure that the role of the Auditor-General remains appropriate for the modern public sector environment. The Auditor-General’s mandate has expanded to encompass the audits of the financial statements of all Australian Government entities and performance audits of public sector programs and entities, including Commonwealth Partners. The Auditor-General was made an independent officer of the Parliament on the recommendation of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts.

In 2001 the ANAO celebrated 100 years as a Commonwealth institution. To commemorate this milestone the ANAO commissioned a documented history, entitled From Accounting to Accountability: A Centenary History of the Australian National Audit Office.

Commonwealth Auditors-General

• John William Israel (1902–1926)
• Charles John Cerutty (1926–1935)
• Herbert Charles Brown (1935–1938)
• Ralph Abercrombie (1938–1946)
• Albert Charles Joyce (1946–1951)
• James Brophy (1951–1955)
• Harold Clive Newman (1955–1961)
• Victor John William Skermer (1961–1973)
• Duncan Robert Steele Craik (1973–1981)
• Keith Frederick Brigden (1981–1985)
• John Vincent Monaghan (1985–1987)
• John Casey Taylor (1988–1995)
• Patrick Joseph Barrett (1995–2005)
• Ian McPhee (2005–2015)
• Grant Hehir (2015–2024)
• Dr Caralee McLiesh PSM (2024–present)